Eliphaz on Righteousness Job 22

Job 22:3 "Is it any pleasure to the Almight, that thou are righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?"

My answer to both questions would be YES. I don't know about these boys who have come to Job to comfort him. They tell him he is suffering because of wickedness, then one switches as if to say, 'Okay so you are righteous, Does God care?'

I think it is so important to God that he sent his only begotten Son to die so that man had the opportunity to be pleasing to the Father.

Romans 6:13 "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."

I Timothy 4:8 "For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come."

There are many verses to answer Eliphaz's questions in a positive way. At this time, they did not have the New Testament so many things were a mystery to them. Abraham would like to have know the details of the mysteries (I suppose) but he went on faith.

Now Eliphaz tells Job that God is far away and cannot see what is going on. Basically, it seems, he is saying that God just does not have time for people and the goings-on on earth.

v14 "Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not, and he walketh in the circuit of heaven."

The thick clouds were to protect the people not hide God. Sinful people before a holy God would not last long, so as in the case of Moses, God choose to appear in the thick cloud. But to say that God cannot see what's happening, is to be naive and misinformed.

Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."

In verses 15-16 Eliphaz refers to the flood in which Noah and his family were saved. See Genesis 6.

"Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood;"

So Eliphaz brings it down to one thing: if you are innocent you will be delivered.

v30 "He shall deliver the island of the innocent; and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands."

We ought to try to live right and do right. One preacher said 'It is never wrong to do right and it is never right to do wrong to do right.' However, man can not deliver or redeem himself by pureness because he has none. If man could save himself, I use to jokingly say: 'Pick up one foot, (while standing) now the other but keep the first one up too.' Also, it is not always God's will to deliver us from our suffering or testing time. True in the end we will be with Him and be just fine but some of our troubles just have to be gone through, often for purposes that only God knows. But He does know!

A good sermon can be found on testing time at this church website in the sermon section. It was about two Sundays ago in the morning service.

Job reasons about God in the next couple of chapters.

Psalm 62:1-2 "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

Eliphaz talks about God being far away.

Job on plight of Wicked Job 21

Job 21:13-14 "They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways."

The 'friends' of Job paint a picture of the wicked which is quite different from what Job says here. The friends have been telling Job that hard times on earth are a result of wickedness. Job tells them that that is not necessarily true as from his observations, the wicked are not disturbed on earth but live a life of luxury until they face their judgment day.

v7 "Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea are mighty in power?"

Then in verse 9 Job talks about the rod of God not being on the wicked. We all know that it is our own children that we correct, sometimes with a spanking. But we do not correct children that we do not know. So God does not exact punishment on those he does not know, not until their judgment.

v9 "Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them."

That is not to say that a wicked man will not reap some rewards here on earth. It is not, though, the gentle correcting of a father to a son. I always told my sons take correction from someone who loves you, don't wait to get it from people who do not know or love you. It will be worse.

Some will remember the story in the New Testament of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar at the gate. The rich man seemed untouched by the cares of the world but his end result was terrible, while the beggar had only what people left him, yet his end was glorious.

Remember Abraham's answer to the rich man in Luke 16:25" But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."

Job continues: v29-30 "Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? the shall be brought forth to the day of wrath."

The friends or comforters may have told Job some truth in their speeches but as Job pointed out in the next verse, their truth is mixed with falsehood making their whole argument null.

v34 "How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?"

Remember how Satan twisted the truth when he was talking to Eve. He put just enough truth in his words to make them sound legitimate. So did he try to do it with Jesus when he had been fasting. It is a trick that has been passed down through the ages. It pays to listen well.

Genesis 3:4 "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:"

A bold lie for it went directly against what God had said. This lie is more subtle: Genesis 3:3 "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." It wasn't highlighted for Eve. Read what God really said: Genesis 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Notice the highlighted part is missing in the original statement made by God.

Why would Satan change a few seemingly meaningless words? I believe it was to set Eve up for the bigger lies that followed. Eve was told the rules by Adam because she was not there for the original statement, so not only did Satan cast doubt on what God said but her husband as well.

So back to Job, next time Eliphaz has a few things to say it seems to me that he is running out of steam.

Psalm 146:17 "The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. v18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth."

Job talks about the wicked.

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